Eric woke up feeling… off. He couldn’t quite place what was wrong with his immediate environment, but something definitely wasn’t right. There was a bird chirping nearby, but that wasn’t too far out of the ordinary. He lived on the outskirts of town, so small critters making noise was something he was used to. It was a little warmer than expected. Maybe his heater had kicked on at the wrong time.

His room definitely smelled different, that he was sure of. While he wasn’t the dirtiest person he knew, he often skipped a day or two of showering, so smelling like sweat in his third-floor apartment room was a semi-regular occurrence. He was a live-in author and gamer, so this was only to be expected. But now, he smelled… earth. Earth, plants, and even a little bit of rain. Did he leave his window open last night? It was possible.

The bird chirped again, a little louder now, and he pushed himself up by the hands. He was too tired to realize that the surface under his ground wasn’t cloth, but dirt. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with the back of his hand, he blinked his eyes open and looked around. It was then that his new surroundings were obvious. He was in the middle of a forest, on a packed dirt path.

“What?” He asked stupidly, trying to piece everything together. “Where am I?”

This wasn’t even the forest close to his home, he realized. The trees he was used to were spruce and birch. Here, the trees looked more like oak, though their trunks were much wider. It was also warm, as he’d noticed earlier. Much warmer than it should be in the middle of an Alaskan winter. The mere thought of what he’d have experienced waking up in an Alaskan forest made him rub his arms. He frowned, feeling not a bare chest like he’d fallen asleep in.

He looked down and realized that he was wearing a white cloth tunic. An actual tunic, like the kind they wore in medieval times, complete with a white cloth belt holding it closed. The breeches he was wearing were white as well, save for where they were stained with dirt. They were cinched at the waist and ankles and were actually quite comfortable.

New Quest

A New World

You awake in a strange new area, unsure of how you got here. Maybe looking around is a good idea.

Objective: Find the nearest waypoint.

(Optional: Collect a Shard)

Reward: 50xp, 10cp

The text window appeared before him without warning, and he jumped back with a cry of shock. Then, realizing that he wasn’t under attack, he forced himself to calm down and read what it said. A quest? What was this supposed to be, some kind of video game? Was there a character sheet too? He snorted with laughter then jumped again, as that very thing appeared before him. It had NUMBER tabs: Basic Information, Equipment & Treasure, Combat Information, and Abilities. He looked at Basic Information, and another screen appeared.

[Basic Information]

Name: Eric Breeden

Age: 20

Race: Outsider (Human)

Class: N/A

Rank: Citizen

Gender: Male

Likes: Fighting, Music

Dislikes: Liars, Racism, Assholes in general

Eric laughed as he saw the likes and dislikes sections. It was pretty spot-on, he had to admit. Still chuckling quietly, he wondered what the Class section was supposed to be for. Normally when you started playing as a character, the race and class would have already been decided. Apparently, his race was Outworlder, which he didn’t quite get. Shaking his head slightly, he turned his attention to the next tab.

Slot

Item Name

Effect

Main Hand

Offhand

Armor

Simple Cloth

None

Ring

Ring

Belt

Earring

Earring

Necklace

[Treasure]

[Shards of Ahya] 0

[BANK] 0 GP

[PP] 0

[GP] 0

[SP] 0

[CP] 0

Relic of Antiquity (No Value)

Bedroll (1 Copper)

Fire Kit (1 Copper)

10x Rations (No Value)

Nothing important there, he decided. Next tab.

[Combat Information]

Level: 1

Hit Points: 3

Physical Attack: 0 (0 Strength, 0 Half Dex)

Magical Attack: 0 (0 Strength, 0 Half Dex)

Physical Defense: 0 (0 Strength, 0 Half Dex)

Magical Defense: 0 (0 Strength, 0 Half Dex)

Stat

Race

Class

Assigned

Gear

Misc

Total

Strength

3

0

0

0

0

0

Dexterity

3

0

0

0

0

0

Constitution

3

0

0

0

0

0

Magic

3

0

0

0

0

0

Intelligence

3

0

0

0

0

0

So a three in every stat, he thought. Even though this system was brand-new to him, he knew that was very weak. How did he get a class, then? And, of course, the second he really focused on the thought of a class, there was another window that appeared.

New Quest

Getting Started

You appear to be unarmed. Selecting a class and starting equipment would help.

Objective: Choose a weapon.

Reward: Starting Weapon, 50xp

A flash of light and three bundles of cloth appeared on the ground in front of him. Curious, he reached out to touch the first. A text window appeared in front of him.

Would you like to loot?

[Warrior] Rusty Longsword

[Warrior] Simple Hide Shield

There were too many windows popping up, he thought. He wondered if he could clear them. At the mere thought, all the windows, including the one about the sword and shield, disappeared. He breathed a sigh of relief since the faint humming from each window was starting to give him a headache. He still believed this was some kind of strange dream, which helped him think through it all rationally. He had a vested interest in lucid dreaming, and this was probably just one of those. He reached out for the second and third bundles.

Would you like to loot?

[Rogue] Chipped Bow x1

[Rogue] Rusty Dagger x1

Would you like to loot?

[Mage] Worn Staff x1

[Mage] Spellbook x1

The classes were pretty bland, he thought to himself. Maybe they were only the starting classes. Would he have to unlock more classes by completing achievements? Or was it prestige-based, where delving further into one class would reveal more powerful or useful archetypes? Either option was fine, as long as the class system didn’t stop here. Still, he told himself, this was a dream, so he wasn’t likely to make it that far anyway.

He liked the idea of magic, even of using stealth to make some epic sneaky kills, but if he was being honest, he preferred the idea of a sword and shield. Well, just the sword. But it seemed the shield was included whether he wanted or not, so he might as well take it. He reached out for the first bundle again and accepted the items. All three bundles disappeared from view once he’d made his choice, and a faint ding sounded in the back of his mind. Curious, he brought up his Combat Information window again.

[Combat Information]

Level: 1

Hit Points: 3/3

Attack: 15 (11 Strength, 4 Half Dexterity)

Defense: 15 (11 Constitution, 4 Half Dexterity)

Stat

Race

Class

Assigned

Gear

Misc

Total

Strength

3

8

0

0

0

11

Dexterity

3

5

0

0

0

8

Constitution

3

8

0

0

0

11

Magic

3

2

0

0

0

5

Intelligence

3

2

0

0

0

5

That was cool, he thought. Not a bad spread of stats for a warrior, either. The shield had appeared slung over his back by a simple leather strap, and the sword was on a leather belt at his side. He drew the sword, noting curiously how light it seemed in his hand, and gave it a few experimental swings. It felt like he’d been using the weapon his whole life.

He sheathed the sword and focused his attention on his surroundings. There had been a quest mentioned, he remembered. Find the nearest waypoint, with an optional objective of finding a shard? He had no idea what the shard was about, but the waypoint bit sounded pretty self-explanatory. Video games used waypoints all the time, either for temporary tracking, or even teleportation across vast distances.

Looking around, he noticed again that he had woken up on a dirt path. Since he hadn’t moved, it was easy to see that the path seemed to lead further into the trees in both directions. Well, if he was still in this dream, might as well explore, right? He chose a direction at random and started walking. He was glad his clothing was so light because the heat of the day had become even more intense as he’d sat there, trying to figure out what this dream was about.

It didn’t take him long to see that the forest was thinning, as if he’d reached the edge. The path was a pretty direct one, and it had only turned once or twice before bringing him to what he wanted. Glancing up at the sky, he could make out the beaming sun, the source of all that miserable heat. He could also make out the faint silhouettes of two other celestial bodies in the sky. Wait. Two moons?

Quest Complete

A New World

You awake in a strange new area, unsure of how you got here. Maybe looking around is a good idea.

Objective: Find the nearest waypoint.

(Optional: Collect a Shard)

Reward: 50xp, 10cp

He looked down in surprise at the ding and saw a large stone altar, perhaps four feet high and three feet wide. There was a small stone basin at the center, and it was filled with water. It didn’t look or smell like anything but water, and as he dipped a finger in, it didn’t taste off. He shrugged, and dunked his entire face in, practically inhaling the water as he chugged it down. It felt amazing against his face in this heat, and when he finally pulled away, a lot of it splashed onto his clothing, drenching him.

“Whoo, that’s good stuff,” he said between heavy breaths. “Wonder why this dream came to me? Still, could be worse, like a nightmare. Can’t complain.”

He wiped his face dry with the sleeve of his tunic and took another moment to survey his surroundings. The forest had opened onto wide plains, with waist-high grass growing as far as he could see. The path continued out of the forest and winding its way through the plains, but he lost sight of it after a few feet, thanks to the tall grass. He heaved a sigh and sat himself down at the side of the altar. This was an interesting dream to be sure, but he wished he could move on to something less unpleasant. Or he could wake up, he thought with a laugh. Why couldn’t he just sleep like a normal person?

[WARNING]

You cannot rest while in combat.